Target apparatus



Dec. 20, 1938. w. L. DYSART'ET AL TARGET APPARATUS Filed Sept. 15, 1937 2 Sheets-Shut l /Z/K g Dee 20,1938. w, L, DYSART HAL 2,140,671

TARGET APPARATUS Filed Sept. 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 I 29 a w. L. .Dysarl' 46 1?.1

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Patented Dec. 20, 1938 lJNlTED STATES TARGET APPARATUS William L. Dysart andRoy J. Newlin, Louisville, Ky.

Application September 15, 1937, Serial No. 164,064

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved target apparatus particularly intended for use as an amusement device.

An object of the invention is to provide a target apparatus which, while being confined to relative simplicity, structurally, will nevertheless require some degree of skill for its operation although, however, the factor of skill alone will not wholly determine results, so that the operation of the apparatus will possess a lasting interest as well as prove diverting.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus wherein the aiming device employed will be constructed to simulate a firearm, such as a rifle, and wherein the rifle will embody a rotor operable by a trigger for separately energizing at random a number of scattered lamps on the target for indicating the score of the shot.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus wherein the rifle must be aimed in a level position in order that any one of the lamps of the target may be energized, thus requiring some skill on the part of the operator in aiming, and wherein a pilot light on the rifle will, when the rifle is aimed level, be energized for indicating that the trigger may then be pulled.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus wherein the frame of the firearm employed will embody a housing, and wherein by removing the side plates of said housing, all of the essential mechanism employed on the firearm will be exposed and rendered accessible.

Another object of the invention, in connection with the foregoing, is to provide an apparatus wherein the rotor employed, along with the trigger for actuating the same, will be mounted as a unit within the housing of the firearm, and wherein, when the removable side plates of said housing are displaced, said unit may be bodily removed from the housing.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus well adapted for home use as well as adapted for more elaborate installation at places of amusement.

Other and incidental objects of the invention will appear during the course of the following description and in the accompanying drawings, wherein we have illustrated what we at present believe to be a preferred embodiment of our invention from among various other forms, ar-

rangements, combinations and constructions, of which the invention is capable within the spiritand scope thereof.

Figure is a diagrammatic view of the circuits employed.

In carrying the invention into effect, we employ an aiming device which, as seen in Figure 1 of the drawings, is preferably constructed to simulate a firearm. In the present instance, we have shown a rifle embodying a stock i9 and barrel H, and rigidly connecting the two is a more or less ovate housing having, as better seen in Figure 2, top and bottom walls I? and 53 extending between the stock and barrel. Normally closing the housing are removable side plates M and i5, and detachably securing said plates in position are tie bolts l6 extending between the plates near the corners thereof. Mounted on the barrel are approved front and rear sights ll and i8 respectively.

Removably fitting snugly between the top and bottom walls l2 and i3 of the rifle housing and enclosed by the side plates I 4 and I5 is a rotor unit, shown in detail in Figure 3 of the drawings. This unit embodies a rectangular frame l9 having sides Eli and 2|, and formed in the side 20 of the frame is a bowed portion 22. Preferably, the frame is formed of a suitable resilient metal strip bent to the desired shape and welded or otherwise secured together at its ends.

Journaled between the sides 2t and El of the frame H9 at the bowed portion 22 is a. shaft 23 and fixed to said shaft is a rotor 26 preferably in the form of a weighted fly wheel so that when the rotor is set into motion, it will continue to revolve of its own momentum for a short interval of time. Formed on or otherwise secure to the rotor at one side thereof are ratchet teeth 25 and journaled on the shaft to coact with said teeth is a ratchet disk Zii'having, as best seen in Figure 2, a short lever 2'1. Interposed between said disk and the bowed portion 22 of the side 21'! of the frame i9 is a spring 28 surrounding the shaft and urging the disk to coact with the ratchet teeth 25.

Fixed to the lower end portion of the side 20 of the frame I9 is a bracket 29 upon which is pivoted a trigger as freely received through a slot 3| in the lower end of the frame and extending forwardly from the upper end of the trigger is a brake arm 32 offset to project beneath the rotor 24 and provided with a preferably composition shoe 33 to coact with the rotor at its periphery. Extending rearwardly from the upper end of the trigger 35 is a lever 34 and pivotally connecting said lever with the lever 27 of the ratchet disk 26 is a link 35. Fixed to the side 25 of the frame l9 above the bracket 29 is a lug 36 and fixed to said lug is a spring 3? bearing against the free end of the lever 34 at its upper edge.

As will now be seen, when the trigger is pulled rearwardly, the brake shoe 33 will be swung away from the rotor 24 while the link 35 will be moved upwardly for rotating the disk 25 and, as will be understood, turning the rotor, and by pulling sharply on the trigger, the rotor may, as will be perceived, be caused to spin. Upon the release of the trigger, the spring 31 will return the trigger and urge the brake shoe 33 into frictional engagement with the rotor so that the spinning of the rotor will be soon checked and the rotor again brought to rest. Engaged with the ends of the frame IQ, as seen in Figure 2, are screws 38 extending through the top and bottom walls [2 and I3 of the rifle housing for detachably securing the rotor unit in position and formed in the bottom wall l3 of said housing is a slot 39 opening through one edge of said wall so that the unit may be slidably removed from the hous- Fixed to the upper end portion of the side 25 of the frame I9 is a spring contact brush 4%) suitably insulated from the frame and appropriately fixed to the adjacent side of the rotor 25 but suitably insulated therefrom is a contact ring 4| yieldably engaged by said brush. Mounted upon the rotor at its opposite side is a spring contact brush 42, suitably insulated from the rotor, and extending freely through a suitable opening in the rotor is a pin 43 electrically connecting said brush with the ring 4i. Mounted in spaced parallel relation to the rotor is a disk 44 of suitable insulating material, and detachably connecting said disk with the side 2! of the frame l9 are spaced bolts 45, the disk being apertured centrally to freely accommodate the shaft 23 therethrough. Mounted upon said disk is a circular series of spaced contacts 43 engageable by the free end of the brush 42. Thus, when the rotor 25 is turned, the brush 42 will successively ride over said contacts.

Suitably mounted upon the side plate IA of the rifle housing is an angle bracket ll insulated from said plate and fixed to said bracket is a lamp socket 48 having spaced terminals 49. Removably engaged in the socket is a pilot lamp 50 and formed in the top wall 12 of the housing above said lamp is an opening 5! so that when the lamp is energized, the light will shine through said opening.

Appropriately fixed to the side plate 14 of the rifle housing below the bracket 41 is a metal angle bracket 52 which is suitably insulated from said plate and welded or otherwise fixed to said bracket is a substantially hemispherical metal bowl 53 provided at its upper margin with an inturned flange 55. Formed in the bowl at the bottom thereof is an opening 35 and freely movable in the bowl is a metal contact ball 56 which will be retained in the bowl by the flange 54. If desired, the bowl may be suitably covered to prevent displacement of the ball. Extending through the bracket 52 but insulated therefrom is a terminal 5?, the head of which is disposed in the opening 55 of the bowl and is engaged by the ball 56 when resting in said opening, and fixed to the bracket 52 is a terminal 58 in circuit with the bowl. I

As will now be seen, when the rifle is aimed in a level position, the ball 55 will come to rest in the opening 55 of the bowl 5-3 and make contact with the terminal 51 for closing a circuit through the bowl to the terminal 58. On the contrary, should the rifle not be aimed in a level position, the ball will rest within the bowl away from the opening 55 so that the circuit between said terminals will be broken. A leveling device for the rifle is thus provided and, as will be perceived, some skill will be required in the aiming of the rifle in order that it may be held in a level position.

Suitably fixed to the side plate M of the rifle housing forwardly of the brake arm 32 is an angle bracket 59 preferably insulated from said plate and mounted upon said bracket is a circuit breaker comprising insulated but normally engaged spring contacts 30 and 6|, the latter of which projects at its free end beneath the brake shoe 33. Accordingly, when the trigger 33 is pulled and the arm 32 is swung downwardly, the shoe 33 will engage the free end of the contact 66 and flex said contact out of engagement with the contact 30 to break a circuit therethrough.

Appropriately fixed to the side plate I4 of the rifle housing in the rear of the trigger 30 is an angle bracket 62 preferably insulated from said plate and mounted upon said bracket are insulated spring contacts 53 and 64 normally spaced apart at their free ends. Formed in the bottom wall l3 of the rifle housing rearwardly of the trigger is a slot 65 and overlying said slot externally of the housing is a stop plate 58 carrying a knob 81. Overlying the slot within the housing is a plate 68 carrying a knob 69 and connecting the plates 86 and 68 with the wall l3 to provide a slide is a screw TB which is freely received through the slot 65. The knob 69 is of insulating material and, when the slide is shifted rearwardly, is adapted to engage the contact 63 and flex said contact into engagement with the contact 64 for closing a circuit through said contacts. Conversely, when the slide is shifted forwardly, as shown in Figure 2, the plate 66 will be moved into the path of the trigger to block movement thereof and render the rifle inoperative while the knob 59 will be moved forwardly away from the contact 63, when said contact will spring away from the contact 64 to break the circuit therethrough. A safety switch is thus provided while the switch slide also forms a safety stop for the trigger adapted to prevent the operation thereof.

In conjunction with the rifle, as described in the foregoing, we provide a target embodying a preferably cylindrical casing 'il closed at its forward side, as best seen in Figure 4, by a front pane 12 secured by a rim 13. Closing the casing at its rear side is a back plate 14 and fixed to said plate is a plurality of spaced concentric rings forming partitions 15 within the casing. These partitions divide the space within the casing into concentric compartments T6 and mounted upon the back plate 74, one within each of said compartments, is a plurality of scattered lamp sockets 11 having corresponding terminals 18 and opposite corresponding terminals 79. Removably engaged in said sockets are lamps and, as brought out in Figure l, the front pane 12 of the target is preferably provided with appropriate numbers indicating the score-value of the respective lamps.

The rifle is electrically connected with the target and in Figure of the drawings we have shown the circuits employed. Leading from a battery or other source of current is a wire 8| connected to the safety switch contact 53 and leadingfrom the switch contact 64 to one of the terminals 49 of the pilot lamp 5!! is a wire 82. Connecting the other terminal of the pilot lamp with the terminal 5! of the leveling device is a wire SSa-ndleading from the terminal 58 of said device back to the battery is a wire 84.

As will be seen, when the safety slide is moved rearwardly to dispose the plate 65 out of the path of the trigger 3|! so that the trigger may be operated, and the contacts 63 and 64 of the safety switch are closed, a circuit will be closed through the pilot lamp 50 to the leveling device. Accordingly, when the rifle is aimed level, the ball 56 of the leveling device will, as previously described, complete the circuit so that the pilot lamp will be energized. Therefore, as soon as a light appears through the opening 5! of the rifle housing, the operator will be apprised of the fact that he has succeeded in perfecting a level aim, when the trigger may be pulled.

Leading from the switch contact 64 to the brush 40 is a wire 85 and connecting the several contacts 46 with the lamp terminals 18, respectively, of the target are wires 86. Wires 8'! connect the respective lamp terminals 19 with a return wire 88 common thereto and the wire 88 is connected to the contact 68 while the contact 6! is connected with the wire 83 by a wire 89.

As will now be understood, current will, when the switch contacts 63 and 64 are closed, flow from the battery through the wire 85 to the brush 4!] and thence through the ring 4| of the rotor 24 and through the pin 43 to the rotor brush 42. Should the brush 42 be, at the time, standing on any one of the contacts 46, current will therefore flow through one of the wires 86 to energize a corresponding one of the lamps 8!] and return through the wires 81 and 88, circuit breaker contacts 60 and BI, and wires 88, 89, 83 and 84 to the battery, assuming, of course, that the rifle is being aimed level.

Further assuming, under the conditions just previously indicated, that the trigger 30 of the rifle is pulled, the contact iii of the circuit breaker will, as previously described, be moved away from the contact 60. Thus, the return side of the circuit just previously traced will be broken for all of the lamps 89, so that flickering of the lamps while the rotor 24 turns and the brush 42 rides over the contacts 46 will be prevented. Upon the release of the trigger, however, the rotor 24 will, as also previously described, be stopped, while the contacts 60 and El of the circuit breaker will again engage. Accordingly, when the brush 42 comes to rest upon one of the contacts 46, a corresponding lamp 8!) in the target will be energized. The score-value number of the lamp so energized will, of course, indicate the score made on the shot and, in competitive shooting, the person having the highest aggregate score will be considered the winner. As brought out in Figure 1, the circuit wires 86, 8'! and 88 are preferably bunched in a cable 90 which extends between the target and rifle and if so desired, suitable detachable connections for the ends of the cable may be provided.

Having thus described our invention we claim:

1. A target apparatus including a simulated firearm having a trigger, a simulated target having a lamp thereon, said target being located within range of the firearm when the latter is aimed level at the target, means operable by the trigger for closing a circuit through-the lamp, and a leveling device on the firearm for completing said circuit when the firearm is aimed level.

2. A target apparatus including a simulated firearm having a trigger, a simulated target having a lamp thereon, said target being located within range of the firearm when the latter is aimed level at the target, means operable by the trigger for closing a circuit through the lamp, a leveling device on the firearm for completing said circuit when the firearm is aimed level, and means operable by the trigger for breaking said circuit when the trigger is actuated.

3. A target apparatus including a simulated firearm having a trigger, a simulated target having a lamp thereon, said target being located within range of the firearm when the latter is aimed level at the target, means operable by the trigger for closing a circuit through the lamp, a leveling device on the-firearm for completing said circuit when the firearm is aimed level, and a safety switch interposed in said circuit and including an element for blocking the actuation of the trigger when the switch is open.

4. A target apparatus including a simulated firearm having a trigger, a simulated target having a lamp thereon, said target being located within range of the firearm when the latter is aimed level at the target, means operable by the trigger for closing a circuit through the lamp, a leveling device on the firearm for completing said circuit when the firearm is aimed level, and a pilot lamp shunted across said leveling device.

5. In a target apparatus, a simulated firearm including a housing, and a rotor unit mounted in the housing and bodily removable therefrom, said unit including a frame, a shaft journaled thereon, a weighted flywheel carried by the shaft, a series of spaced insulated contacts carried by the frame, a brush on the flywheel engageable with said contacts successively, a trigger carried by the frame, and means operable by the trigger for spinning the flywheel.

6. In a target apparatus, a simulated firearm including a housing, and a rotor unit mounted in the housing and bodily removable therefrom, said unit including a frame, a shaft journaled thereon, a weighted flywheel carried by the shaft, a series of spaced insulated contacts carried by the frame, a brush on the flywheel engageable with said contacts successively, a trigger carried by the frame, means operable by the trigger for spinning the flywheel, a brake arm carried by the trigger and engageable with the flywheel for stopping the flywheel when the trigger is released, and a spring acting on the trigger and urging said arm to coact with the flywheel.

'7. A target apparatus including a simulated firearm having a trigger, a simulated target in range of the firearm when aimed level thereat and having a plurality of lamps thereon, a weighted flywheel rotatable by the trigger and adapted to spin of its own momentum for closing a circuit through any one of said lamps at random when the flywheel comes to rest, and. a leveling device on the firearm for completing said circuit when the firearm is aimed level.

8. A target apparatus including a simulated firearm having a trigger, a simulated target in range of the firearm when aimed level thereat and having a plurality of lamps thereon, a

weighted flywheel rotatable by the trigger and adapted to spin of its own momentum for closing a circuit through any one of said lamps at random when the flywheel comes to rest, a leveling device on the firearm for completing said circuit when the firearm is aimed level, and a brake engageable with the flywheel when the trigger is released for checking the spinning of the flywheel and bringing the flywheel to rest quickly.

9. A target apparatus including a simulated firearm having a trigger, a simulated target in range of the firearm when aimed level thereat and having a plurality of lamps thereon, a

means operable by said brake arm for breaking 10 said circuit when the trigger is actuated.

WILLIAM- L. DYSART. ROY J. NEWLIN. 

